A young man for a giant job
The curtain rose in the Senate and Roberto Velasco Álvarez, only 38 years old, received the baton. With 81 votes in favor and 30 against, he officially becomes the new Secretary of Foreign Affairs. His mission: to direct Mexico’s diplomatic orchestra in one of its most delicate moments.
The shadow to the north is long and inescapable. Your desk will be covered from day one by the thorniest dossiers: the relationship with Donald Trump’s administration, the review of the USMCA and the eternal immigration crisis. Add to that the protection of our countrymen abroad and security cooperation that cries out to be reinvented.
“The axes will be the well-being of the Mexican people, the defense of sovereignty and the promotion of economic growth,” declared Velasco before the senators.
A different profile for new times
He is not the usual chancellor. He has a master’s degree in Public Policy from Chicago and a lawyer from Ibero. He brings under his arm an agenda marked by inclusion and the defense of rights. A fresh air, perhaps necessary, for a chancery that needs to navigate turbulent waters.
But the words in the Senate are only the initial script. The real drama will be written at the negotiating tables with Washington, in the multilateral forums and in how the total reconfiguration of the world order is handled. Climate change and global security do not wait.
Velasco promised active, down-to-earth diplomacy. Now it is his turn to demonstrate that, beyond the speech, he has the strategy to turn great challenges into real opportunities for Mexico. The public is waiting.
